The Luwire Conservancy is located within the Niassa Special Reserve in northern Mozambique. It sits on the south eastern bank of the Lugenda River, covering an area of 1 million acres (450,000 hectares), and benefiting from 300km of river frontage. Nine caves have been discovered to date featuring paintings from historic indigenous tribes. Luwire is a prehistoric wilderness with incredible diversity by geography, flora and fauna, comprising of miombo woodlands, granite inselbergs , open savannah, wetlands, river floodplains, and riverine forest. Wildlife in the concession is widely varied, including the Niassa wildebeest, Boehm’s zebra, Johnston’s impala, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, and hundreds of bird species. Pel’s fishing owl, African Pitta, African skimmer and the Taita falcon feature prominently within this biodiversity.
The vast Niassa reserve is home to approximately 60,000 people, with virtually no tourism infrastructure. The area is under severe threat from poaching, artisanal mining and illegal forestry due to limited historical governmental and NGO oversight, and insufficient community engagement.
The Zambesia Conservation Alliance is specifically looking for partners who are working on effective ways to include local communities in conservation. We were delighted when Luwire joined as an alliance partner, with new type of social and environmental impact organisation, purpose fit for a post COVID19 world. Luwire marries donor and commercial funding to build a nature-based economy immune to the cyclicality of the tourist trade. Its aim is to empower local communities as long-term stewards of the Conservancy.
Alexandra Kornman is Luwire’s London based Head of International Business Development. She has pioneered the concept of manufacturing better quality ranger uniforms at Luwire. Planning is now at an advanced stage and they hope to launch this initiative later in 2021, with a particular objective of creating businesses that support local, skilled female employment.
Alexandra has also worked with Luwire’s General Manager, Derek Littleton, to develop the concept of a PAU – Protected Agriculture Unit. Luwire plans to surround farmer fields with solar powered electric fences to ward off elephants and baboons. The power will also be used to drive water pumps which will reduce the need for dangerous trips to the Lugenda River edge. Further, community shelters will sit at the centre of each PAU and feature cell phone charge points. Better and more regular irrigation will improve food security by allowing three not two crops per year. The containment of agriculture inside the PAUs will discourage traditional slash and burn farming.
Paula Ferro was formerly Luwire’s deputy General Manager and is now a Maputo based Ambassador. She has successfully trained local Yao women in Manhune village to make crotchet animal dolls. These dolls are sold in Maputo and to Luwire guests delivering a supplemental income to local women. This income is ultimately recycled into better nutrition, healthcare, and education for local families. The generous support of the Irish Governmenthas allowed a pilot scheme to be scaled with planning now in progress extend the project to other Luwire villages.
Luwire’s Dubai-based Ambassador Zahara Malik sits on the Middle Eastern Board of Football for Peace (www.footballforpeaceglobal.org ). Luwire and Football for Peace have now signed a long-term MOU focused on an annual football tournament at Mussoma village under the theme Peace with Man, Peace with Nature. The goal is to combine an annual football event with the completion of a water infrastructure project.
More is planned for 2021, including
▪ A new partnership with Pemba-based Safari Airthat will dramatically lower access costs into the Niassa Reserve.
▪ A crowd funding initiative to eliminate Luwire’s carbon footprint. With the help of Luwire Ambassador Ziegler Mendonça from Maputo based Swiss Solar, Luwire shall be replacing is diesel power infrastructure with a solar panel and battery storage combination.
▪ The mid-year arrival of charitable partner SAVSIM(www.savsim.org ) at Luwire to assist with ranger training.
▪ Later this year, Smart Parks(www.smartparks.org ) will install a wireless, virtual area network at Luwire, transforming Luwire’s approach to security. Technology is now impacting the world of conservation. This will be Mozambique’s first installation (and demonstration) of Smart Parks technology– a real milestone for Luwire and real milestone for Mozambique.
Luwire’s motto is “opportunity in every crisis”, it is inspirational to see that coming through on every front. Despite the grim reality of the impact of Covid 19, the management of Luwire have strived onward and upward in the face of each challenge.
